Armchair c. 1937

Editor: This is Frank Wenger’s “Armchair,” from around 1937, rendered in pencil and watercolour. It's such a clean, straightforward depiction of, well, a chair! What strikes you about this particular piece? Curator: For me, the beauty here resides in revealing the process. Look at how the pencil underdrawing peeks through the watercolour washes, making the artist’s hand visible. It’s about the means of production as much as the product itself, isn't it? Editor: It does invite you to look closely, doesn’t it? Curator: Precisely! The choice of such a commonplace object – furniture – and the direct, almost diagrammatic rendering challenges our conventional notions of "high art." Think about the labour involved in crafting an object like this chair versus creating its likeness on paper. How does depicting a mass produced object through a traditional craft influence our understanding of both? Editor: So, you're saying it blurs the lines between artistic labour and industrial production? Curator: Exactly. It prompts us to think about materiality itself. The wooden structure, the woven seat – the artist draws attention to these elements, their inherent qualities, and their origin. It speaks volumes about how materials are sourced and utilized during this era. Consider too the context: what was Wenger's role and audience at the time? Editor: It's funny, I came expecting to see an artwork, and now I'm thinking about the social and economic implications of chair-making. Curator: Isn’t it great when a work can shift our perspective like that? Seeing art as a process rooted in material conditions broadens our understanding. Editor: Definitely. I’ll never look at a chair the same way again. Thanks for sharing your insights!